Steeple Needs A Church

YORK — Local congregation seeks to give back to the community by giving away its gently-used steeple.

Plenty of people have kittens and puppies to give away, old clothes to donate to a worthwhile charity or a gently-used baby stroller to hand down to a relative.

How about a 30-foot tall church steeple?

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints congregation in upper York County is looking for a good home for just such an item. The steeple is free to any church group that can haul it away, said Mark Denison, facilities manager for the denomination's 18 church buildings in Hampton Roads.

He guesses the steeple weighs at least 1,000 pounds and is worth between $10,000 and $15,000. It's 18 years old but made of weather-resistant fiberglass.

"It looks as good today as it did when it was new," Denison said.

Open Door Baptist Church in Newport News is among a handful of churches that have contacted Denison in response to a classified ad that ran in the Daily Press on May 1.

"I just think the idea is wonderful," said Nancy Spencer, the treasurer at Open Door. "If the Lord's willing, it will go on top of our church."

She said she never reads the classified ads, but this one was different.

"It just jumped off the page at me," she said. "It was like the Lord said, 'Look at this.'"

Open Door Baptist Church does not currently have a steeple and could not afford to buy one, Spencer said. The church would still have to raise money to move the steeple and install it, she said.

The Williamsburg-area Mormon church -- located on Newman Road, which is what Route 199 becomes east of Interstate 64 -- is giving away the steeple because it bought a new one. The new steeple is aluminum, can be painted and has brass shutters. The old one cannot be painted and has a square base that is more plain.

Also, the new steeple is on top of the church roof while the old steeple rose from the ground.

"It's more of a reverent look," Dennison said of the new style.

So far, five groups have expressed interest in the old steeple, Denison said, although the first group that stopped by to see it said it was too big for what they needed.

He hopes another group will find it just right. If not, the church could take it to the dump, Denison said. But it would rather not.

"We're encouraged as a church to give a lot back to the community," Denison said. "We would just be glad to have someone else enjoy it at little or no cost."